Law and the Library

by Library of Congress

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Description

Law and the Library is a series of debates and discussions on a wide variety of contemporary legal issues. The series presented by the Law Library of Congress ranges from talks by current or former Members of Congress to pressing foreign, comparative, and international legal issues.

Aileen Pisciotta introduces and demonstrates the new website impowr.org from the International Models Project for Women's Rights, established by the American Bar Association in 2008 to harness the information sharing power of the internet to empower advocates and defenders of gender equality under the law around the world.
Speaker Biography: Aileen Pisciotta is a business lawyer with over 25 years experience as a major law firm partner, corporate general counsel and senior government manager. She is chair of the International Models Project on Women's Rights (IMPOWR) Task Force of the American Bar Association.

The Friends of the Law Library of Congress presented the 2011 Wickersham Award for exceptional public service and dedication to the legal profession to former Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Following the award presentation, Justice Stevens was interviewed by Gwen Ifill, moderator and managing editor of "Washington Week" and senior correspondent for "PBS NewsHour."
Speaker Biography: Nominated by President Gerald Ford to replace the Court's longest-serving justice, William O. Douglas, Justice John Paul Stevens served from Dec. 19, 1975, until his retirement on June 29, 2010. At the time of his retirement, Stevens was the oldest member of the Court and the third-longest-serving justice in the Court's history.
For captions, transcript, or more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5256.

Joseph Raz delivered the second Frederic R. and Molly S. Kellogg Biennial Lecture in Jurisprudence on the subject of "Sovereignty & Legitimacy: On the Changing Face of Law, Questions and Speculations."
Speaker Biography: Joseph Raz is a legal, moral and political philosopher and one of the most prominent advocates of legal positivism. He is Thomas M. Macioce Professor of Law at the Columbia Law School, Columbia University.
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5356.

In honor of Constitution Day, journalist Dahlia Lithwick speaks on the Supreme Court and free speech.
Speaker Biography: Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor and legal correspondent for Slate, writes the column "Supreme Court Dispatches" and has covered the Microsoft trial and other legal issues. Before joining Slate, she worked for a family law firm in Reno, Nev., and clerked for Procter Hug, chief justice of the ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1996. Her work has appeared in the New Republic, Commentary, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Elle and on CNN.com. She is a weekly legal commentator for the NPR show, Day to Day.
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5355.

A group of distinguished speakers discussed the rights and opportunities of women in honor of International Human Rights Day.
Speaker Biography: Sharon Hrynkow is senior adviser to the assistant secretary of state of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs.
Speaker Biography: Steven Shapiro is legal director of American Civil Liberties Union.
Speaker Biography: Graciela Rodriguez-Ferrand is a senior foreign law specialist at the Law Library of Congress.
For transcript, captions, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5442.

VideoThe Connection Between the U.S.Independence and the Hispanic American Independence Movement

Allan Brewer-Carías discussed the Connection between the U.S. Independence and the Hispanic American Independence Movement in the context of several key constitutional law books published in the United States at the beginning of the 19th century.
Speaker Biography: Allan Brewer-Carías obtained his J.D. (1962) and his Doctor of Laws Degree (1994) from the Central University of Venezuela. He became a tenured professor in administrative law at the same University in 1965. There, he also served as director of the Public Law Institute from 1978 to 1989, as head of the Administrative Law Department, and as a head of the Public Law Department.
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5445.

VideoSupreme Court Review: Election Year Issues & Highlights of Last Term

Dahlia Lithwick of Slate Magazine presented her views on the Supreme Court's most noteworthy decisions of its recent term, identified emerging trends on the court and looked ahead to the next judicial term.
Speaker Biography: Dahlia Lithwick is a senior editor and legal correspondent at Slate, where she writes the "Supreme Court Dispatches" and "Jurisprudence" columns. She is also a bi-weekly columnist for Newsweek. Her work has appeared in Harper's, The Washington Post, The New Republic and the Ottawa Citizen, among other media outlets. She was a regular guest on "The Al Franken Show" and has been a guest columnist for the op-ed page of The New York Times.
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5627.

The Law Library celebrates International Human Rights Day with a panel discussion on "Bioethics and Human Rights: Privacy and Consent."
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5822

Carrie Johnson moderated a panel discussion on the movement in America for civil and human rights and the impact it has had in promoting the ideal of equality under the law. This year's national Law Day theme, "Realizing the Dream: Equality for All" marked the 150th anniversary of the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the 50th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Speakers included Carrie Johnson, National Public Radio; Theodore M. Shaw, Columbia University School of Law; Jeffrey Rosen, George Washington University; Risa L. Goluboff, University of Virginia; and Kirk Rascoe of the Library of Congress.
For captions, transcript, and more information visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=5919

Risa L. Goluboff lectured on "How the Constitution Changes: Social and Political Aspects of the Law." This program is part of the Law Library's annual celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day--a federal holiday observed each year to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787, and to "recognize all who, by coming of age or by naturalization, have become citizens." Sep. 17, 2013.
Speaker Biography: Risa L. Goluboff is a professor of law and history at the University of Virginia (UVA). She teaches constitutional law, civil rights litigation, and legal and constitutional history, and she directs UVA's joint J.D.-M.A. program in history. In 2011, she received the University of Virginia's All-University Teaching Award. She is an affiliated GAGE scholar at the Miller Center and a faculty affiliate at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies. In 2012, Goluboff was named a distinguished lecturer by the Organization of American Historians. Her book, "The Lost Promise of Civil Rights," explores varying understandings of civil rights in the era before Brown v. Board of Education.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6193

The Kellogg Biennial Lecture on Jurisprudence presents the most distinguished contributors to international jurisprudence, judged through writings, reputation, and broad and continuing influence on contemporary legal scholarship. The series has been generously endowed by Frederic and Molly Kellogg. This year's speaker is Amartya Sen, who lectures on "Justice: Disagreement and Objectivity." Nov. 7, 2013.
Speaker Biography: Amartya Sen was born in India and educated at Presidency College, Calcutta and Trinity College, Cambridge. His research has included work on social choice theory and welfare economics (for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998), as well as development economics, causation of famines, theory of measurement, and moral and political philosophy. Sen has served as president of the Econometric Society, the American Economic Association, the Indian Economic Association and the International Economic Association.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6186

Professor Kerr discusses his article, “The Next Generation Privacy Act,” which has been accepted for publication in the University of Pennsylvania Law Review. He argues that Congress should repeal the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510), which regulates government access to Internet records replacing it with a new statute that reflects current technologies and addresses privacy threats.
Speaker Biography: Professor Kerr was appointed in May 2012 as Scholar-In-Residence for the program. He is a tenured professor of law at George Washington University, where he teaches criminal law, criminal procedure and computer-crime law. The focus of his academic research has been on how new technologies change criminal law and criminal investigations. Professor Kerr’s work in this area has been cited in more than 70 judicial decisions, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2012 decision in United States v. Jones, on the constitutionality of the warrantless use of GPS monitoring. Kerr’s articles have been published in many leading law reviews, including the Harvard Law Review and the Yale Law Journal.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6016

Jan. 7, 2014. In celebration of Human Rights Day, the Law Library of Congress hosted a panel discussion on refugee rights.
Speaker Biography: Peter Roudik is director of the Global Legal Research Center at the Library of Congress.
Speaker Biography: Olivia Bueno is associate director of the International Refugee Rights Initiative.
Speaker Biography: Linda Rabben is a developmental editor at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C.
Speaker Biography: George Sadek is senior legal information analyst for the Global Legal Information Network (GLIN), Law Library of Congress.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6247

Jul 11, 2014. Television and radio host Larry King announces the upcoming Library of Congress exhibition "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor."
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6333

June 4, 2014. Deputy Librarian of Congress Robert Dizard Jr. interviews former U.S. Rep. Patricia Schroeder about her career as the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, as former president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers and, most recently, as professor at Rollins College in Florida.
Speaker Biography: After earning a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1964, Patricia Schroeder moved to Colorado for a position with the National Labor Relations Board. Eight years later she became the first woman elected to Congress from Colorado, and the second-youngest woman ever elected to that body. A member of the Democratic Party, Schroeder was re-elected 11 times and served 24 years (1973-1997), representing Colorado's 1st district. Schroeder is in the Colorado Hall of Fame and the National Women's Hall of Fame. She was also honored by the National Research Center for Women and Families in 2006 for her lifetime of achievements, with a Foremother Award. She is the author of two books: "Champion of the Great American Family" and "24 Years of House Work...and the Place Is Still a Mess."
Speaker Biography: Robert Dizard Jr. is Deputy Librarian of Congress.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6344

May 1, 2014. As part of Law Day 2014, Jeffrey Rosen discusses American democracy and the rule of law in commemoration of the impending 50th anniversaries of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Speaker Biography: Jeffrey Rosen is president and chief executive officer of the National Constitution Center, professor of law at George Washington University Law School, and is legal affairs editor of The New Republic. He is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he explores issues involving the future of technology and the Constitution.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6346

Nov. 5, 2014. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Lord Igor Judge discuss the significance of Magna Carta through the centuries.
Speaker Biography: John G. Roberts Jr. is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Speaker Biography: The Hon. Lord Igor Judge is the former lord chief justice of England and Wales.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6505

Aug. 20, 2014. A panel of Library of Congress staff members discussed how materials were prepared and selected for display and educational-outreach curriculum related to the "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor" exhibition.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6535

Dec. 5, 2014. U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch discusses the legacy of Magna Carta in the United States.
Speaker Biography: Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1975, Orrin Hatch is the the senior senator for Utah and, since 2015, President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6590

Dec. 2, 2014. U.S. Senator Patrick J. Leahy and David S. Mao discuss the legacy of Magna Carta in the United States.
Speaker Biography: Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont has served in the U.S. Senate since 1975 and was President Pro Tempore of the Senate from 2012 to 2015.
Speaker Biography: David S. Mao is Law Librarian of Congress.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6587

VideoMagna Carta: Rule of Law in the Contemporary World - Civil Liberties & Surveillance

Dec. 9, 2014. As a part of a symposium on the enduring legacy of Magna Carta, an expert panel discussed rule of law as it relates to contemporary issues surrounding civil liberties and surveillance.
Speaker Biography: Orin Kerr is Fred C. Stevenson Research Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School.
Speaker Biography: Frank James "Jim" Sensenbrenner Jr. has served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin since 1979. He is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary and chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations.
Speaker Biography: Jerrold L. Nadler has served in the U.S. House of Representatives representing New York since 1992 and is a member of the House Committee on the Judiciary and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6596

Nov. 6, 2014. The Library of Congress opened its 10-week exhibition "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor," which features the Lincoln Cathedral Magna Carta, the great charter of rights and liberties, one of only four surviving copies of the original issue in 1215. HRH The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, cut the ribbon in the exhibition gallery and spoke briefly during the opening ceremony in the Great Hall of the Library's Thomas Jefferson Building. Sir Peter Westmacott (British Ambassador to the U.S.), British dignitaries and Library of Congress officials participated in the morning events.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6598

Nov. 6, 2014. The Library of Congress celebrated the opening of the exhibition "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor" with an evening gala. Held in the Library's Coolidge Auditorium, the ceremony included a mix of speakers and musical performances by the Temple Church Choir and Mezzo-Soprano Denyce Graves-Montgomery. Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal provided remarks along with Librarian of Congress James Billington, Law Librarian of Congress David Mao, the Very Rev. Philip Buckler and a keynote address by Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Antonin Scalia. Charles Humphries served as master of ceremonies for the program.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6603

Dec. 17, 2014. This video shows how to access, search and subscribe to the Law Library of Congress's Global Legal Monitor.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6605

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor." Speakers include A.E. Dick Howard, Cornelius Kerwin and David Fontana.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6613

Dec. 9, 2014. David Mao and Sir Robert Worcester provide opening remarks for the symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor."
Speaker Biography: David S. Mao is the Law Librarian of Congress.
Speaker Biography: Sir Robert Worcester is chair of the Magna Carta 800th Anniversary Commemoration Committee.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6626

VideoThe Rise of a New Magna Carta for Early Modern England & Colonial America

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor." Speakers included law professors John Witte Jr. and Alonzo L. McDonald.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6621

VideoThe Most Sacred Ancient Liberty: Magna Carta & Trial by Jury in the New Republic

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor."
Speaker Biography: Renee Lettow Lerner is professor of law at George Washington University Law School.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6629

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor." Speakers included Roberta I. Shaffer (Library of Congress, ret.), Jonathan Jacobs (City University of New York) and William C. Hubbard (American Bar Association).
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6630

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor." Speakers included Carrie Johnson (National Public Radio), Vicki Jackson (Harvard Law School) and Craig Lerner (George Mason University Law School).
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6628

Dec. 9, 2014. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor."
Speaker Biography: Joyce Lee Malcolm is Patrick Henry Professor of Constitutional Law and the Second Amendment at the George Mason University School of Law.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6622

Dec. 9, 2015. Scholars, historians and contemporary thinkers discuss how Magna Carta's political and legal traditions have carried into our current times at this symposium, Conversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter, held in conjunction with the Library's exhibition, "Magna Carta: Muse and Mentor." Speakers included Law Librarian of Congress David Mao and Sir Robert Worcester.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6623

Sep. 16, 2014. For the Library's annual Constitution Day lecture, Akhil Reed Amar discussed Magna Carta and its historical connection to the U.S. Constitution.
Speaker Biography: Akhil Reed Amar is the Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he teaches constitutional law at both Yale College and Yale Law School. He received a bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, in 1980 from Yale College and a J.D. in 1984 from Yale Law School, where he served as an editor of The Yale Law Journal. After clerking for Judge Stephen Breyer, U.S. Court of Appeal, 1st Circuit, Amar joined the Yale faculty in 1985. He is also is the co-editor of a leading constitutional law casebook, "Process of Constitutional Decision-Making." Amar also is the author of "The Constitution and Criminal Procedure: First Principles" (1997) and "The Bill of Rights: Creation and Reconstruction" (1998).
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6656

Jan. 14, 2015. Ruth Mazo Karras discussed, through an analysis of the lives of three women, the way law affected (or not) women at different levels of society in medieval England.
Speaker Biography: Ruth Mazo Karras is professor and chair of the history department at the University of Minnesota.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6666

VideoConversations on the Enduring Legacy of the Great Charter: American Law & the Great Charter

Dec. 9, 2014. As a part of a symposium on the enduring legacy of Magna Carta, Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is interviewed by David Rubenstein.
Speaker Biography: Stephen G. Breyer is an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Speaker Biography: David Rubenstein is co-founder and co-CEO of the Carlyle Group.
For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6697